This digital collection features fascinating photographs of early 20th century India under British rule. The 217 black and white photographs come from a rare book called India Illustrated: Being a Collection of Pictures of the Cities of Bombay, Calcutta and Madras, Together with a Selection of the Most Interesting Buildings and Scenes throughout India. The book was published by Bennett, Coleman, & Co., publishers of the English language newspaper Times of India, around the year 1905.

Complete with captions and descriptions taken directly from the book, the images capture the full scope of India’s scenery: from cities to farmland; from rivers and beaches to jungles and mountains; from crowded streets to idyllic countryside; from Western-style cathedrals to elaborate Indian temples. Of particular interest are photographs of the majestic Taj Mahal and the historic Chepauk Palace, which was constructed in the mid-1700s. A handful of the photographs are set in the cities of Lahore and Karachi, in what is now Pakistan.

Hallmarks of British colonialism are evident in images of the Madras Cricket Club, the Royal Bombay Yacht Club, the Adyar Club for golf and tennis, the Gymkhana Club, which hosted polo matches, and a top-coated huntsman leading a pack of hounds on a fox hunt.

The collection also shows villagers engaged in a variety of daily activities, such as fishing, basket-weaving, harvesting the fields, and washing clothes on riverbanks.